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Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and other ISPs block porn websites in India. Here’s how to unblock them

Home→Access →Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and other ISPs block porn websites in India. Here’s how to unblock them

[Updated Nov 27, 2018] Another day, another slap in the face of internet freedom. And not the kind of slap that people pay good money to receive. In fact, those kind slaps are going to be pretty thin on the ground in India going forward.

Indian customers of Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, and other Indian Internet Service Provider (ISP), are taking to Reddit to complain that they cannot access their favorite nature documentaries — OK, enough with the double entendres. Porn. They can’t access their porn. There. We said it.

Back then, the ban was brought to you by MoralityTM, which was really rich since India consumes so much adult content the Indian telcos came back with estimates that their revenues would drop 30-70% if the ban continued. Yeah, the ban didn’t last long after that.

That is until late September, 2018 when the government basically revived it and told ISPs “Ban porn sites, or lose license” (Seriously. That’s the headline).

The story for the ban this time is that freely accessible pornography is damaging young minds and contributing to violent sex crimes in the country (at least, that’s the excuse the powers that be seem to be trying on to excuse the actions of the douchebags involved — as if they needed defending — despite plenty of evidence to the contrary).

Given the horrific nature of some of these acts — did we mention these guys are monsters? No, we called them douchebags. Yeah, they’re douche-monsters, for sure — it’s a little understandable (if naive) that the government is reacting this way.

If porn is banned by ISPs, doesn’t it make it illegal to watch?

During the original 2015 ban, a spokesperson from India’s telecom industry said: “The (court) noted that free and open access to these websites.... should be controlled, but these sites will continue to be available through the mechanism of a VPN."

And it would appear that the same principle would stand now, as the goal is to stop minors from just whipping out a mobile phone and go on a violent sex crime spree rather than do math in class…

Yeah, it really is the kind of ill-informed, sledgehammer solution governments are known for when it comes to solving social issues by breaking the web, and all it will really do is punish law abiding perverts who can’t afford a VPN… Not very democratic, if you ask us…

A word on porn

Look, we obviously don’t condone the horrific acts that have been occurring depressingly often in India.

That said, proof of its negative societal impact is quite thin on the ground, while the opposite — that as creepy as watching donkey-on-donkey play in the dark with your favorite tissue brand might be, it actually may be providing an outlet for our most violent behaviors — is disturbing, if hard to ignore.

So long that’s the case, we’re in favor of letting consenting adults do what they will with themselves and each other in the privacy of their own home or internet connections.

Now, with that out of the way…

How to unblock porn websites from India

Just because the content you’re being deprived of is the kind that can make your pants feel too small doesn’t change how you access it. But as a quick recap, here are 2 easy ways you can do it easily:

1. Use a proxy

Proxies are a relatively easy way to get access to almost any site, because you don’t have to install anything. Just pick a location from a different country and you’re good to go.

But keep a few things in mind:

Your traffic on a proxy isn’t encrypted, so your ISP will see what you’re up to…

That goes double for the owner of the proxy server you’re using.

And also whatever creep is running the local router you’re connecting to.

In other words, a proxy may not be the best if you’ve got privacy in mind, so make sure the one you pick is from a trustworthy provider. We happen to know a great free web proxy (shameless plug).

2. Use a VPN

The big daddy to proxies. A VPN will also let you access content that’s, ahem, morally unacceptable in your country, but it will encrypt everything you’re doing behind some heavy-duty math to hide it from your ISP and anyone else watching your connection. So no need to worry about the guilt-trip police at all.

Look, if you’re going to drop your pants, you might as well hide your ass with a VPN. (So pun. Very timing. Much obvious)...